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| {{Use British English|date=December 2012}} | |||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} | |||
| {{Infobox ethnic group | |||
| |group=Rohingya people | |||
| |native_name=Ruáingga | |||
| |image=Displaced Rohingya people in Rakhine State (8280610831).jpg | |||
| |poptime=1,424,000{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}–2,000,000<ref>{{cite book|author1=David Mathieson|title=Perilous Plight: Burma's Rohingya Take to the Seas|date=2009|publisher=]|isbn=9781564324856|page=3}}</ref> | |||
| |popplace= ] (]), ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | |||
| |region1={{flag|Myanmar}} | |||
| |pop1=1.3 million <ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33007536|title=Will anyone help the Rohingya people?|work=BBC News}}</ref> | |||
| |ref1=<ref name=":5"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://asianhistory.about.com/od/Asian_History_Terms_N_Q/g/Who-Are-The-Rohingya.htm|title=Who Are the Rohingya?|publisher=About Education|year=2014|accessdate=8 March 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118161625/http://asianhistory.about.com/od/Asian_History_Terms_N_Q/g/Who-Are-The-Rohingya.htm|archivedate=18 November 2012}}</ref> | |||
| |region2={{flag|Saudi Arabia}} | |||
| |pop2=400,000 | |||
| |ref2=<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ethnologue.com/country/SA | title=Saudi Arabia entry at Ethnologue | publisher=Ethnologue | accessdate=6 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
| |region3={{flag|Bangladesh}} | |||
| |pop3=300,000–500,000 | |||
| |ref3=<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thedailystar.net/bangladeshs-rohingya-camps-promise-or-peril-52913 | title=Bangladesh's Rohingya camps - promise or peril? | publisher=] | date=2 December 2014 | accessdate=19 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Myanmar Rohingya refugees call for Suu Kyi's help|url=http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2012/06/myanmar-rohingya-refugees-call-for-suu.html|date=13 June 2012|agency=Agence France-Presse|accessdate=9 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.businessnews-bd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=973%3Abangladesh-for-permanent-solution-to-burmese-rohingya-refugee-problem&Itemid=71 | title=Bangladesh for permanent solution to Burmese Rohingya refugee problem | work=Bangladesh Business News | accessdate=19 May 2015}}</ref> | |||
| |region4={{flag|Pakistan}} | |||
| |pop4=200,000 | |||
| |ref4=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?200305 |title=Homeless In Karachi | Owais Tohid, Arshad Mahmud |publisher=Outlookindia.com |date=29 November 1995 |accessdate=18 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs/SRI-rohingya.htm |title=Box 5925 Annapolis, MD 21403 info@srintl |publisher=Burmalibrary.org |date= |accessdate=18 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="huffington">{{cite news | author=Derek Henry Flood | title=From South to South: Refugees as Migrants: The Rohingya in Pakistan | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/derek-henry-flood/from-south-to-south-refug_b_100387.html | newspaper=Huffington Post | date=31 December 1969 | accessdate=11 February 2015 }}</ref> | |||
| |region5={{flag|Thailand}} | |||
| |pop5=100,000 | |||
| |ref5=<ref>{{cite news|last=Husain|first=Irfan|title=Karma and killings in Myanmar|url=http://dawn.com/2012/07/30/karma-and-killings-in-myanmar/|newspaper=]|date=30 July 2012|accessdate=10 August 2012}}</ref> | |||
| |region6={{flag|Malaysia}} | |||
| |pop6=40,070 | |||
| |ref6=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org.my/About_Us-@-Figures_At_A_Glance.aspx|title=Figure At A Glance|publisher=]|year=2014|accessdate=30 December 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230060328/http://www.unhcr.org.my/About_Us-@-Figures_At_A_Glance.aspx|archivedate=30 December 2014|deadurl=yes}}</ref> | |||
| |region7={{flag|Indonesia}} | |||
| |pop7=11,941 | |||
| |ref7=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aceh.tribunnews.com/2015/05/19/jumlah-pengungsi-rohingya-di-indonesia-capai-11941-orang|title=Jumlah Pengungsi Rohingya di Indonesia Capai 11.941 Orang|language=Indonesian|author=Jalimin|publisher=Aceh Tribun News|date=19 May 2015|accessdate=11 October 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011043047/http://aceh.tribunnews.com/2015/05/19/jumlah-pengungsi-rohingya-di-indonesia-capai-11941-orang|archivedate=11 October 2015|deadurl=no}}</ref> | |||
| |region8={{flag|Nepal}} | |||
| |pop8=200 | |||
| |ref8=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://myrepublica.com/feature-article/story/43651/over-200-rohingya-settle-illegally-in-capital.html |title=200 Rohingya Refugess are not accepted as Refugees and Nepal Government considers them illegal migrants |quote=An estimated 36,000 Rohingya Refugess living in India |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604182045/http://myrepublica.com/feature-article/story/43651/over-200-rohingya-settle-illegally-in-capital.html |archivedate=4 June 2016 |df=dmy }}</ref> | |||
| | region9 = {{flag|India}} | |||
| | pop9 = 36,000 | |||
| | ref9 = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/worldlink-the-plight-of-rohingyas-in-india/av-19434182 |title=WorldLink: The plight of Rohingyas in India |date=29 July 2016 |website=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> | |||
| |langs=] | |||
| |rels= ] | |||
| |related-c = | |||
| }} | |||
| {{islam by country}} | |||
| The '''Rohingya people''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|oʊ|ɪ|n|dʒ|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|oʊ|h|ɪ|n|dʒ|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|oʊ|ɪ|ŋ|j|ə}}, or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|oʊ|h|ɪ|ŋ|j|ə}}),<ref>{{OED|Rohingya}}</ref> are ] ] from the ], ].<ref name=lan>{{cite book | title=Language and National Identity in Asia | publisher=Oxford University Press | author=Andrew Simpson | year=2007 | location=United Kingdom | page=267 | isbn=978-0199226481}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/rhg |title=Rohingya reference at Ethnologue}}</ref> According to Rohingyas and some scholars, they are indigenous to Rakhine State, while other historians claim that they migrated to Myanmar from ] primarily during the period of ],{{Sfn|Leider|2013|p=7}}<ref name="Derek">{{cite web | url=http://blog.irrawaddy.org/2014/04/blog-post_52.html | title=The 'Rohingya' Identity - British experience in Arakan 1826-1948 | author=Derek Tonkin | publisher=The Irrawaddy | accessdate=19 January 2015}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title = Burma's Muslims: Terrorists or Terrorised?|last = Selth|first = Andrew|publisher = Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University|year = 2003|isbn = 073155437X|location = Australia|page = 7}}</ref> and to a lesser extent, following Burmese independence in 1948 and the ] in 1971.<ref name=Kaiser/><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|title = Minority Problems in Southeast Asia|last = Adloff|first = Richard|publisher = Stanford University Press|year = 1955|isbn = |location = United States|page = 154|last2 = Thompson|first2 = Virginia}}</ref>{{Sfn|Crisis Group|2014|pp=4-5}}<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> International media and human rights organizations have often described Rohingyas as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world,{{Sfn|Crisis Group|2014|p=i}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Myanmar, Bangladesh leaders 'to discuss Rohingya'|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-26/an-burma-bangladesh-rohingya-talks/4092238|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=29 June 2012}}</ref> while origin of that term with relation to the United Nations is still unclear.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/7376-origin-of-most-persecuted-minority-statement-unclear.html|title = Origin of ‘most persecuted minority’ statement unclear|last = MclaughLin|first = Tim|date = 8 July 2013|work = |access-date = 17 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
| Muslims have settled in Rakhine State (also known as Arakan) since the 16th century, although the number of Muslim settlers before British rule is unclear.{{Sfn|Leider|2013|p=14}} After the ] in 1826, the British annexed Arakan and encouraged migrations from Bengal to work as farm laborers. The Muslim population may have constituted 5% of Arakan's population by 1869, although estimates for earlier years give higher numbers. Successive British censuses of 1872 and 1911 recorded an increase in Muslim population from 58,255 to 178,647 in Akyab District. During World War II, the ] involved ] between British-armed ] Rohingya recruits and Buddhist ] and the region became increasingly ethnically polarized.<ref name=":2" /> | |||
| In 1982, General ]'s government enacted the ], which denied Rohingya citizenship. Since the 1990s, the term "Rohingya" has increased in usage among Rohingya communities.<ref name="Derek" /><ref name=":7">{{cite web|url = http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF15/Leider-Note.pdf|title = "Rohingya": Rakhaing and Recent Outbreak of Violence: A Note|date = |website = |publisher = Network Myanmar|last = Leider|first = Jacques P.|accessdate = 11 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
| As of 2013, about 1.3 million Rohingyas live in Myanmar.<ref name="bbc.com"/> They reside mainly in the northern Rakhine townships, where they form 80–98% of the population.<ref name=":7" /> | |||
| Many Rohingyas have fled to ]s and ]s in neighbouring Bangladesh<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/bangladesh-and-other-asian-countries-must-act-alleviate-plight-rohingya-refugees | author=Ridwanul Hoque | title=Asian challenge | publisher=D+C, development and cooperation | date=16 March 2016 | accessdate=27 April 2016}}</ref> and to areas along the border with ]. More than 100,000 Rohingyas in Myanmar continue to live in camps for ]s, not allowed by authorities to leave.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/20/burma-rohingya-muslim-refugee-camps | title=Trapped inside Burma's refugee camps, the Rohingya people call for recognition | publisher=The Guardian | date=20 December 2012 | accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news|title=US Holocaust Museum highlights plight of Myanmar's downtrodden Rohingya Muslims| url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/06/us-holocaust-museum-highlights-plight-myanmar-downtrodden-rohingya-muslims/ |date=6 November 2013|agency=]|work=]}}</ref> Rohingyas have received international attention in the wake of ], and more recently because of their attempted migration throughout Southeast Asia in the ]. | |||
| ==Nomenclature== | |||
| The Rohingya refer to themselves as ''Ruáingga'' {{IPA|/ɾuájŋɡa/}}. In the dominant languages of the region, they are known as ''rui hang gya'' (following the ]) in {{lang-my|ရိုဟင်ဂျာ}} {{IPA|/ɹòhɪ̀ɴd͡ʑà/}} and ''Rohingga'' in {{lang-bn|রোহিঙ্গা}} {{IPA|/ɹohiŋɡa/}}. | |||
| Jacques P. Leider states that in precolonial sources, the term ''Rohingya'', in the form of ''Rooinga'' appears only once in a text written by ].<ref name="leider_arakan">{{cite news| last=Leider | first=Jacques P.| title=Interview: History Behind Arakan State Conflict | url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/8642 | work=] | date=9 July 2012 |accessdate=9 July 2012}}</ref> In his 1799 article "A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire", Hamilton stated: "I shall now add three dialects, spoken in the ''Burma'' Empire, but evidently derived from the language of the ''Hindu'' nation. The first is that spoken by the '']s'', who have long settled in ''Arakan'', and who call themselves ''Rooinga'', or natives of ''Arakan''."<ref name="buchanan_burma">{{cite journal |last=Buchanan-Hamilton |first=Francis |authorlink=Francis Buchanan-Hamilton |date=1799|title=A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire |url=http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64276.pdf |journal=Asiatic Researches |publisher=] |volume=5 |pages=219–240 |accessdate=9 July 2012}}</ref> The word ''Rohingya'' means "inhabitant of Rohang", which was the early Muslim name for Arakan.<ref name="auto"/> | |||
| After riots in 2012, academic authors used the term Rohingya to refer to the Muslim community in northern Rakhine. Professor Andrew Selth of Griffith University for example, uses "Rohingya" but states "These are Bengali Muslims who live in Arakan State...most Rohingyas arrived with the British colonialists in the 19th and 20th centuries."{{Sfn|Leider|2013|p=7}}<ref name=":3" /> Among the overseas Rohingya community, the term has been gaining popularity since the 1990s, though a considerable portion of Muslims in northern Rakhine are unfamiliar with the term and prefer to use alternatives.<ref name="Derek" /><ref name="leider_arakan" /> | |||
| ==History== | |||
| Although ] have existed for a long time in Arakan, the original settlers before the British rule are generally assumed to be few.{{Sfn|Aye Chan|2005|p=397}} After four decades of British rule in 1869, Muslim settlers reached 5% of Arakan's population. The number steadily increased until World War II.<ref name=":7" /> | |||
| ===Kingdom of Mrauk U=== | |||
| Early evidence of Bengali Muslim settlements in Arakan date back to the time of ] (1430–1434) of the ]. After 24 years of exile in Bengal, he regained control of the Arakanese throne in 1430 with military assistance from the ]. The ] who came with him formed their own settlements in the region.{{Sfn|Aye Chan|2005|p=398}}{{Sfn|Yegar|2002|p=23}} | |||
| ] | |||
| Min Saw Mon ceded some territory to the Sultan of Bengal and recognised his sovereignty over the areas. In recognition of his kingdom's ] status, the kings of Arakan received Islamic titles and used the Bengali ] within the kingdom. Min Saw Mon minted his own coins with the ] on one side and the ] on the other.{{Sfn|Yegar|2002|p=23}} | |||
| Arakan's vassalage to Bengal was brief. After Sultan ]'s death in 1433, Narameikhla's successors invaded Bengal and occupied Ramu in 1437 and Chittagong in 1459. Arakan would hold Chittagong until 1666.<ref name="app-78">Phayre 1883: 78</ref><ref name="geh-140-141">Harvey 1925: 140–141</ref> | |||
| Even after gaining independence from the Sultans of Bengal, the Arakanese kings continued the custom of maintaining Muslim titles.{{Sfn|Yegar|2002|pp=23-24}} The Buddhist kings compared themselves to ]s and fashioned themselves after ] rulers. They also continued to employ Muslims in prestigious positions within the royal administration.{{Sfn|Yegar|2002|p=24}} The Bengali Muslim population increased in the 17th century, as they were employed in a variety of workforces in Arakan. Some of them worked as ], ] and ] ]s in the Arakanese courts, which, despite remaining Buddhist, adopted Islamic fashions from the neighbouring Bengal Sultanate.{{Sfn|Yegar|2002|p=24}} The ], who are regarded as one of the official ethnic groups of Myanmar, are descended from these Muslims.<ref>{{cite book|author=Maung San Da|title=History of Ethnic Kaman (Burmese)|location=Yangon|year=2005}}</ref> Also during the 17th century, tens of thousands of Bengali Muslims were captured by Arakanese raiders—with some serving in the king's army, others sold as slaves and others forced to settle in Arakan.<ref name="auto"/> | |||
| ===Burmese conquest=== | |||
| Following the ]'s conquest of Arakan in 1785, as many as 35,000 Rakhine people fled to the neighbouring ] of British Bengal in 1799 to escape persecution by the ] and to seek protection from the ].{{Sfn|Aye Chan|2005|pp=398–9}} The Bamar executed thousands of Rakhine men and deported a considerable portion of the Rakhine population to central Burma, leaving Arakan as a scarcely populated area by the time the British occupied it.{{Sfn|Aye Chan|2005|p=399}} | |||
| According to an article on the "''Burma'' Empire" published by the British ] in 1799, "the '']s'', who have long settled in ''Arakan''", "call themselves ''Rooinga'', or natives of ''Arakan''."<ref name="buchanan_burma"/> However, according to Derek Tokin, Hamilton no longer used the term to refer to the Muslims in Arakan in his later publications.<ref name=Derek/> Sir ] saw many Muslims serving as ]s in ] while on a diplomatic mission there.<ref>Thant Myint-U (2007), p. 126 {{Google books|tsTOKi8l1ywC|The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of Burma|page=126}}</ref>{{Sfn|Yegar|1972|pp=10}} | |||
| ===British colonial rule=== | |||
| ] | |||
| British policy encouraged Bengali inhabitants from adjacent regions to migrate into the then lightly populated and fertile valleys of Arakan as farm laborers. The ] extended the ] to Arakan. There was no international boundary between Bengal and Arakan and no restrictions on migration between the regions. In the early 19th century, thousands of Bengalis from the Chittagong region settled in Arakan seeking work.{{Sfn|Aye Chan|2005|p=403}} | |||
| The British census of 1872 reported 58,255 Muslims in Akyab District. By 1911, the Muslim population had increased to 178,647.{{Sfn|Aye Chan|2005|p=401}} The waves of migration were primarily due to the requirement of cheap labour from British India to work in the paddy fields. Immigrants from Bengal, mainly from the Chittagong region, "moved en masse into western townships of Arakan". To be sure, Indian immigration to Burma was a nationwide phenomenon, not just restricted to Arakan.<ref name=tmu-2006-185-187>Myint-U 2006: 185–187</ref> | |||
| Historian ] writes: "At the beginning of the 20th century, Indians were arriving in Burma at the rate of no less than a quarter million per year. The numbers rose steadily until the peak year of 1927, immigration reached 480,000 people, with Rangoon exceeding New York City as the greatest immigration port in the world. This was out of a total population of only 13 million; it was equivalent to the United Kingdom today taking 2 million people a year." By then, in most of the largest cities in Burma, ], ], ] and ], the Indian immigrants formed a majority of the population. The Burmese under the British rule felt helpless, and reacted with a "racism that combined feelings of superiority and fear."<ref name="tmu-2006-185-187" /> | |||
| The impact of immigration was particularly acute in Arakan, one of less populated regions. In 1939, the British authorities, alert to the long-term animosity between the Rakhine Buddhists and the Muslims, formed a special Investigation Commission led by James Ester and ] to study the issue of Muslim immigration into the Arakan. The commission recommended securing the border; however, with the onset of ], the British retreated from Arakan.<ref name=kzt/> | |||
| ===World War II Japanese occupation and inter-communal violence=== | |||
| {{main article|Arakan massacres in 1942}} | |||
| During World War II, the ] invaded ]. The British forces retreated and in the power vacuum left behind, considerable inter communal violence erupted between Arakanese and Muslim villagers. The British armed Muslims in northern Arakan in order to create a buffer zone that would protect the region from a Japanese invasion when they retreated<ref name="Field-Marshal Viscount William Slim 2009">{{cite book|url=|title=Defeat Into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942–1945|author=Field-Marshal Viscount William Slim|year=2009|publisher=Pan|location=London|page=|isbn=0330509977|pages=|accessdate=}}</ref> and to counteract the largely pro-Japanese ethnic Rakhines.<ref name="auto"/> The period also witnessed violence between groups loyal to the British and the Burmese nationalists.<ref name="Field-Marshal Viscount William Slim 2009"/> | |||
| Aye Chan, a historian at the Kanda University, has written that as a consequence of acquiring arms from the British during World War II, Rohingyas{{refn|The term was not used during this period.|group = note|name = term}} tried to destroy the Arakanese villages instead of resisting the Japanese. In March 1942, Rohingyas from northern Arakan killed around 20,000 Arakanese. In return, around 5,000 Muslims in the ] and ]s were killed by Rakhines and ]s.<ref name=kzt>{{cite journal | title=Background of Rohingya Problem | author=Kyaw Zan Tha, MA |date=July 2008 | page=1}}</ref> | |||
| As in the rest of Burma, the Japanese committed acts of rape, murder and torture against Muslims in Arakan.<ref>{{cite book|title=Genocide and gross human rights violations: in comparative perspective|author=Kurt Jonassohn|year=1999|publisher=Transaction Publishers|location=|page=263|isbn=0765804174|pages=}}</ref> During this period, some 22,000 Muslims in Arakan were believed to have crossed the border into ], then part of British India, to escape the violence.<ref>{{cite book|title=Protracted displacement in Asia: no place to call home|author=Howard Adelman|year=2008|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|location=|page=86|isbn=0754672387|pages=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Burma/Bangladesh: Burmese refugees in Bangladesh: still no durable solution|author=Human Rights Watch (Organization)|year=2000|publisher=Human Rights Watch|location=|page=6|isbn=|pages=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Asian profile, Volume 21|author=|year=1993|publisher=Asian Research Service|location=|page=312|isbn=|pages=}}</ref> The exodus was not restricted to Muslims in Arakan. Thousands of Burmese Indians, Anglo-Burmese and British who settled during colonial period emigrated en masse to India. | |||
| To facilitate their reentry into Burma, British formed Volunteer Forces with Rohingya. Over the three years during which the Allies and Japanese fought over the Mayu peninsula, the Rohingya recruits of the V-Force, engaged in a campaign against Arakanese communities, using weapons provided by V-Force.<ref name=":2">{{cite book | title=Forgotten Armies: The Fall of British Asia, 1941-1945 | publisher=Harvard University Press | author=Bayly & Harper | year=2005 | pages=383–384 | isbn=0-14-029331-0}}</ref> According to the secretary of British governor, the ], instead of fighting the Japanese, destroyed Buddhist monasteries, pagodas, and houses, and committed atrocities in northern Arakan.<ref>{{cite book | title=Burmese Outpost (Memoirs of a British Officer who fought in Arakan with the Arakanese V Forces during the Second World War) | publisher=Collins | author=Anthony Irwin | year=1945 | location=London | page=21}}</ref>{{Sfn|Aye Chan|2005|pp=406–407}} | |||
| === Post-war insurgency === | |||
| {{See also|Rohingya insurgency in Western Myanmar}} | |||
| During the ] in the 1940s, Rohingya Muslims in western ] organized a separatist movement to merge the region into ].{{Sfn|Yegar|1972|pp=10}} Before the ] of Burma in January 1948, Muslim leaders from Arakan addressed themselves to ], the founder of Pakistan, and asked his assistance in incorporating the Mayu region to ] considering their religious affinity and geographical proximity with East Pakistan.{{Sfn|Yegar|1972|pp=10}}] | |||
| Two months later, the north Arakan Muslim League was founded in Akyab (modern Sittwe). It demanded annexation to ].{{Sfn|Yegar|1972|pp=10}} The proposal was never materialized since it was reportedly turned down by Jinnah saying that he was not in a position to interfere into Burmese matters.{{Sfn|Yegar|1972|pp=10}} | |||
| After Jinnah's refusal, Rohingya elders founded the Mujahid party as a ] movement in northern Arakan in 1947.<ref>{{cite book|url=|title=The Talibanization of Southeast Asia: Losing the War on Terror to Islamist Extremists|author=Bilveer Singh|year=2007|publisher=|location=|page=42|isbn=0275999955|pages=|accessdate=}}</ref> The aim of the Mujahid party was to create an autonomous Muslim state in Arakan. By the 1950s, they began to use the term "Rohingya" which may be a continuation of the term Rooinga to establish a distinct identity and identify themselves as indigenous. They were much more active before the ] by General Ne Win. Ne Win carried out military operations against them over a period of two decades. The prominent one was ], which took place in 1978; as a result, many Muslims in the region fled to neighboring Bangladesh as refugees. In addition to Bangladesh, a large number of Rohingyas also migrated to ], Pakistan.<ref name="huffington" /> | |||
| Rohingya ] are still active within the remote areas of Arakan.<ref> July–Sept 1996, Nida'ul Islam magazine.</ref> | |||
| === Post-independence immigration and Bangladesh Liberation War === | |||
| The numbers and the extent of post-independence immigration from Bangladesh are subject to controversy and debate. In a 1955 study published by Stanford University, the authors Virginia Thompson and Richard Adloff write, "The post-war illegal immigration of Chittagonians into that area was on a vast scale, and in the Maungdaw and Buthidaung areas they replaced the Arakanese."<ref name=":6" /> The authors further argue that the term ''Rohingya, ''in the form of ''Rwangya, ''first appeared to distinguish settled population from newcomers: "The newcomers were called Mujahids (crusaders), in contrast to the Rwangya or settled Chittagonian population."<ref name=":6" /> | |||
| From 1971 to 1973, the ] and its ] saw an exodus of ten million Bengali refugees to neighboring countries. A large number of refugees settled in northern Rakhine and to a smaller extent in Chin State. In 1975, Bangladesh Ambassador to Burma, Khwaja Mohammed Kaiser admitted that there were upward of 500,000 trespassers in Arakan who Burma had some rights to eject and implored the Burmese authorities not to press the issue during political turmoils in Bangladesh.<ref name=Kaiser>{{cite web|url = http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF13/kaiser-obrien.pdf|title = Extract from record by UK Ambassador Terrence J O'Brien of his call in Rangoon on the Bangladesh Ambassador to Burma Khwaja Mohammed Kaiser|date = 23 December 1975|website = Network Myanmar|publisher = |accessdate = 21 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
| From 1971 to 1978, a number of Rakhine monks and Buddhists staged hunger strikes in Sittwe to force the government to tackle immigration issues which they believed to be causing a demographic shift in the region.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Civil Insurgency in Burma|last = Aung|first = Thit|publisher = Ministry of Information|year = 1988|isbn = |location = Yangon|page = 30}}</ref> Ne Win's government requested UN to repatriate the war refugees and launched military operations which drove off around 200,000 people to Bangladesh. In 1978, the Bangladesh government protested against the Burmese government concerning "the expulsion by force of thousands of Burmese Muslim citizens to Bangladesh." The Burmese government responded that those expelled were Bangladesh citizens who had resided illegally in Burma. In July 1978, after intensive negotiations mediated by UN, Ne Win's government agreed to take back 200,000 refugees who settled in Arakan.{{Sfn|Yegar|2002|p=56}} In 1982, the Burmese government enacted the citizenship law and declared the "Bengalis" are foreigners.{{Sfn|Yegar|2002|p=59}} | |||
| There are widespread beliefs among Rakhine people that significant number of immigrants arrived even after the 1980s when the border was relatively unguarded. However, there is no documentation proof for these claims as the last census was conducted in 1983.<ref name=":5" /> Successive Burmese governments have fortified the border and built up border guard forces. | |||
| === 'Rohingya' movement (1990-present) === | |||
| ] | |||
| {{Quote box | |||
| |quote = "Rohingyas have been in Rakhine from the creation of the world. Arakan was ours; it was an Indian land for 1,000 years." | |||
| |source = —A Rohingya member of Parliament<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Unforgiving history |url=http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21565638-why-buddhists-and-muslims-rakhine-state-myanmar-are-each-others%E2%80%99-throats-unforgiving |magazine=The Economist |date=3 November 2012 |accessdate=19 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
| |width = 25% | |||
| |align = right}} | |||
| Since the 1990s, a new 'Rohingya' movement which is distinct from the 1950s armed rebellion has emerged. The new movement is characterized by lobbying internationally by overseas diaspora, establishing indigenous claims by Rohingya scholars, publicizing the term "Rohingya" and denying Bengali origins by Rohingya politicians.<ref name=":7" /> | |||
| Rohingya scholars have claimed that Rakhine was previously a Muslim state for a millennium, or that Muslims were king-makers of Rakhine kings for 350 years. They often traced the origin of Rohingyas to Arab seafarers. These claims have been rejected as "newly invented myths" in academic circles.<ref name=":4">{{cite web|url = http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF13/jacques-leider.pdf|title = Rohingya: A historical and linguistic note|date = 26 August 2012|website = Network Myanmar|publisher = |last = Leider|first = Jacques P.|accessdate = 9 February 2015}}</ref> Some Rohingya politicians have labelled Burmese and international historians as "Rakhine sympathizers" for rejecting the purported historical origins.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mizzima.com/mizzima-news/myanmar/item/17724-un-under-fire-over-resident-coordinator-s-advisor-on-rakhine/17724-un-under-fire-over-resident-coordinator-s-advisor-on-rakhine |title=UN under fire over resident coordinator's advisor on Rakhine |last=McLaughlin |first=Tim |date=13 February 2015 |work= |access-date=20 February 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219214055/http://www.mizzima.com/mizzima-news/myanmar/item/17724-un-under-fire-over-resident-coordinator-s-advisor-on-rakhine/17724-un-under-fire-over-resident-coordinator-s-advisor-on-rakhine |archivedate=19 February 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref> Nonetheless, the term spreads with great success after the riots in 2012. | |||
| The movement has garnered sharp criticisms from ethnic Rakhines and Kamans, the latter of whom are a recognized Muslim ethnic group in Rakhine. Kaman leaders support citizenship for Muslims in northern Rakhine but believe that the new movement is aimed at achieving a self-administered area or Rohang State as a separate Muslim state carved out of Rakhine and condemn the movement.{{Sfn|Crisis Group|2014|p=23}} | |||
| Rakhines' views are more critical. Citing Bangladesh's overpopulation and density, Rakhines perceive the Rohingyas as "the vanguard of an unstoppable wave of people that will inevitably engulf Rakhine."{{Sfn|Crisis Group|2014|p=14}} However, for moderate Rohingyas, the aim may have been no more than to gain citizenship status. Moderate Rohingya politicians agree to compromise on the term Rohingya if citizenship is provided under an alternative identity that is neither "Bengali" nor "Rohingya". Various alternatives including "Rakhine Muslims", "Myanmar Muslims" or simply "Myanmar" have been proposed.<ref name="Derek" />{{Sfn|Crisis Group|2014|p=32}} | |||
| ===Burmese juntas (1990-2011)=== | |||
| The military junta that ruled Myanmar for half a century relied heavily on mixing Burmese nationalism and ] to bolster its rule, and, in the view of the US government, heavily discriminated against minorities like the Rohingyas and the ] such as the ] and ]. Some pro-democracy dissidents from Myanmar's ethnic Bamar majority do not consider the Rohingyas compatriots.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rfa.org/english/east-asia-beat/rohingya-06122012225150.html |title=Violence Throws Spotlight on Rohingya |publisher=Rfa.org |date= |accessdate=18 October 2013}}</ref><ref name=nyt-20120712>{{cite news |author=Moshahida Sultana Ritu |date=12 July 2012 |title=Ethnic Cleansing in Myanmar |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/opinion/ethnic-cleansing-of-myanmars-rohingyas.html |newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=13 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Hanna Hindström |date=25 July 2012 |title=Burma's monks call for Muslim community to be shunned |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/burmas-monks-call-for-muslim-community-to-be-shunned-7973317.html |newspaper=The Independent }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=Hanna Hindström |date=14 June 2012 |title=The Freedom to Hate |magazine=Foreign Policy |url=http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/06/14/the_freedom_to_hate}}</ref> | |||
| Successive Burmese governments have been accused of provoking riots against ethnic minorities like the Rohingyas and Chinese, although no evidence was produced.<ref>{{cite book |last1=DeRouen |first1=Karl R. |last2=Heo |first2=Uk |date=2007 |title=Civil Wars of the World: Major Conflicts Since World War II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nrN077AEgzMC&pg=PA530 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=530 |isbn=978-1-85109-919-1 |accessdate=12 April 2011}}</ref> In 2009, a senior Burmese envoy to Hong Kong branded the Rohingyas "ugly as ogres" and a people that are alien to Myanmar.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j_x2afxfntqJUV3PuaTz6Jy12_Yg |title=AFP: Myanmar envoy brands boatpeople 'ugly as ogres': report |date=10 February 2009 |publisher=Google.com |accessdate=18 October 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219173010/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j_x2afxfntqJUV3PuaTz6Jy12_Yg |archivedate=19 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fuller |first=Thomas |date=15 June 2012 |title=New Freedom Lets Burmese Air Venom Toward Rohingya Muslims |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/world/asia/new-freedom-in-myanmar-lets-burmese-air-venom-toward-rohingya-muslim-group.html |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref> | |||
| ===2012-present: Rakhine State riots and refugee crisis=== | |||
| {{main article|2012 Rakhine State riots|2015 Rohingya refugee crisis}} | |||
| The 2012 Rakhine State riots were a series of conflicts between Rohingya Muslims who are majority in the northern Rakhine and ethnic Rakhines who are majority in the south. Before the riots, there were widespread and strongly held fears circulating among Buddhist Rakhines that they would soon become a minority in their ancestral state.{{Sfn|Crisis Group|2014|p=14}} The riots finally came after weeks of sectarian disputes including a gang rape and murder of a Rakhine woman by Rohingyas and killing of ten Burmese Muslims by Rakhines.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/08/us-myanmar-violence-idUSBRE85714E20120608 | title=Four killed as Rohingya Muslims riot in Myanmar: government | agency=Reuters | date=8 June 2012 | accessdate=9 June 2012}}</ref><ref name="PhilInquirer">{{cite news|last=Lauras|first=Didier|title=Myanmar stung by global censure over unrest|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/271174/myanmar-stung-by-global-censure-over-unrest|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=15 September 2012 |accessdate=15 September 2012}}</ref> | |||
| From both sides, whole villages were "decimated".<ref name="PhilInquirer" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/51b1af0b6.html|title=UNHCR - One year on: Displacement in Rakhine state, Myanmar|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|work=UNHCR}}</ref> According to the Burmese authorities, the violence, between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, left 78 people dead, 87 injured, and up to 140,000 people have been displaced.<ref name="dvb_hindstorm" /><ref name="UN News">{{cite news|title=UN refugee agency redeploys staff to address humanitarian needs in Myanmar|work=UN News|date=29 June 2012|url=http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42356|accessdate=29 June 2012}}</ref> The government has responded by imposing curfews and by deploying troops in the region. On 10 June 2012, a ] was declared in Rakhine, allowing the military to participate in the administration of the region.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://burma.irrawaddy.org/archives/11901 | title=အေရးေပၚအေျခအေန ေၾကညာခ်က္ ႏုိင္ငံေရးသမားမ်ား ေထာက္ခံ | author=Linn Htet | date=11 June 2012 | publisher=The Irrawaddy | accessdate=11 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | first = Fergal | last = Keane | authorlink = Fergal Keane | title = Old tensions bubble in Burma | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18402678 | publisher = BBC News | date = 11 June 2012 | accessdate = 11 June 2012 }}</ref> Rohingya NGOs overseas have accused the Burmese army and police of targeting Rohingya Muslims through arrests and participating in violence.<ref name="dvb_hindstorm">{{cite news|last=Hindstorm|first=Hanna|title=Burmese authorities targeting Rohingyas, UK parliament told|url=http://www.dvb.no/news/burmese-authorities-targeting-rohingyas-uk-parliament-told/22676|date=28 June 2012|agency=] |accessdate=9 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="presstv">{{cite news|url=http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/07/13/250651/un-focuses-on-myanmar-amid-muslim-plight/ |title=UN focuses on Myanmar amid Muslim plight |date=13 July 2012 |agency=PressTV |accessdate=13 July 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717012101/http://www.presstv.ir:80/detail/2012/07/13/250651/un%2Dfocuses%2Don%2Dmyanmar%2Damid%2Dmuslim%2Dplight/ |archivedate=17 July 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref> | |||
| However, an in-depth research conducted by the International Crisis Group shows that both communities are grateful for the protection provided by the military.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-east-asia/burma-myanmar/b143-myanmar-s-military-back-to-the-barracks.pdf?utm_source=myanmar-briefing&utm_medium=3&utm_campaign=mremail |title=Myanmar's Military: Back to the Barracks? |date=22 April 2014 |website= |publisher=The International Crisis Group |accessdate=17 February 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217063304/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-east-asia/burma-myanmar/b143-myanmar-s-military-back-to-the-barracks.pdf?utm_source=myanmar-briefing&utm_medium=3&utm_campaign=mremail |archivedate=17 February 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref> A number of monks' organisations have taken measures to boycott NGOs which they believe helped only Rohingyas in the past decades even though Rakhines are equally poor.<ref name="ti_hindstorm">{{cite news |last=Hindstorm |first=Hanna |date=25 July 2012 |title=Burma's monks call for Muslim community to be shunned |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/burmas-monks-call-for-muslim-community-to-be-shunned-7973317.html |work=] |location=London |accessdate=25 July 2012}}</ref> In July 2012, the Burmese Government did not include the Rohingya minority group in the census—classified as ] ] from Bangladesh since 1982.<ref>{{cite news |title= Rohingyas are not citizens: Myanmar minister |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3703383.ece |work=The Hindu |location=Chennai, India |date=1 August 2012}}</ref> About 140,000 Rohingya in Myanmar remain confined in IDP camps.<ref name="washingtonpost.com" /> | |||
| In 2015, to escape violence and persecution, thousands of Rohingyas migrated from Myanmar and Bangladesh, collectively dubbed as 'boat people' by international media,<ref name=":0" /> to Southeast Asian countries including ], ] and Thailand by rickety boats via the waters of the ] and the ].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title = The Rohingya boat crisis: why refugees are fleeing Burma|url = http://www.theweek.co.uk/63745/the-rohingya-boat-crisis-why-refugees-are-fleeing-burma|accessdate = 22 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1 = Hookway|first1 = James |title = Rohingya Refugee Crisis Likely to Ease During Monsoon, but Only Temporarily |url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/rohingya-refugee-crisis-likely-to-ease-during-monsoon-but-only-temporarily-1432283124 |work = ] |date = 22 May 2015 |accessdate = 22 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title = South-east Asia migrant crisis: Gambia offers to resettle all Rohingya refugees|url = http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/south-east-asia-migrant-crisis-gambia-offers-to-resettle-all-rohingya-refugees|work = ] |accessdate = 22 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1 = Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah|last2 = Aubrey Belford|title = Pressure mounts on Myanmar over Asia 'boat people' crisis|url = http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/17/us-asia-migrants-idUSKBN0O20JB20150517|work = ]|date = 17 May 2015 |accessdate = 22 May 2015}}</ref> The ] estimates about 25,000 people have been taken to boats from January to March in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/13/malaysia-tells-thousands-of-rohingya-refugees-to-go-back-to-your-country|title = Malaysia tells thousands of Rohingya refugees to 'go back to your country'|last = |first = |date = |work = ]|access-date = 23 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title = Bay of Bengal people-smuggling doubles in 2015: UNHCR|url = http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/08/us-thailand-rohingya-unhcr-idUSKBN0NT11D20150508|newspaper = ]|date = 8 May 2015|access-date = }}</ref> There are claims that around 100 people died in Indonesia,<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/05/17/foreign/rohingya-migrants-died-in-fight-for-food-on-boat/|title = Rohingya migrants ‘died in fight for food’ on boat|last = |first = |date = |work = ]|access-date = 22 May 2015}}</ref> 200 in Malaysia,<ref>{{cite news |last=Lamb |first=Kate |date=17 May 2015 |title='They hit us, with hammers, by knife': Rohingya migrants tell of horror at sea |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/17/they-hit-us-with-hammers-by-knife-rohingya-migrants-tell-of-horror-at-sea |newspaper=The Guardian |accessdate = 22 May 2015}}</ref> and 10 in Thailand<ref>{{cite web|title = SE Asia migrants 'killed in fight for food' on boat - BBC News|url = http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32772333|accessdate = 22 May 2015}}</ref> during the journey. An estimated 3,000 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh have been rescued or swum to shore and several thousand more are believed to remain trapped on boats at sea with little food or water. The crisis has been sparked by smugglers.<ref>{{cite web|title = Migrant crisis — the boats and the numbers|url = http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/migrant-crisis-the-boats-and-the-numbers|accessdate = 22 May 2015}}</ref> | |||
| === Historical demographics === | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| The following table shows the statistics of Muslim population in Arakan. Note that except for 2014 census, the data is for all Muslims in Rakhine. The data for Burmese 1802 census is taken from a book by ]. The British censuses classified immigrants from Chittagong as Bengalis. There were a small number of immigrants from other parts of India. The 1941 census was lost during the war. The 1983 census conducted under the Ne Win's government omitted people in volatile regions. It is unclear how many were missed. British era censuses can be found at ]. | |||
| {| class="wikitable" | |||
| |- | |||
| !Year | |||
| !Muslims | |||
| in Arakan | |||
| !Muslims in | |||
| Akyub | |||
| District | |||
| !Akyub's | |||
| population | |||
| !Percentage | |||
| of Muslims | |||
| in Akyub | |||
| !Indians in Arakan | |||
| (Including most | |||
| Muslims) | |||
| !Indians born | |||
| outside Myanmar | |||
| !Arakan's total | |||
| population | |||
| !Percentage of Muslims | |||
| in Arakan | |||
| |- | |||
| |1802 census | |||
| (Burmese) | |||
| |Lost? | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |248,604 | |||
| |~1-2% (estimate) | |||
| |- | |||
| |1869 | |||
| |24,637 | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |10% | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |447,957 | |||
| |5% | |||
| |- | |||
| |1872 census | |||
| |64,315 | |||
| |58,255 | |||
| |276,671 | |||
| |21% | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |484,963 | |||
| |13% | |||
| |- | |||
| |1881 census | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |359,706 | |||
| | | |||
| |113,557 | |||
| |71,104 | |||
| |588,690 | |||
| | | |||
| |- | |||
| |1891 census | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |416,305 | |||
| | | |||
| |137,922 | |||
| |62,844 | |||
| |673,274 | |||
| | | |||
| |- | |||
| |1901 census | |||
| |162,754 | |||
| |154,887 | |||
| |481,666 | |||
| |32% | |||
| |173,884 | |||
| |76,445 | |||
| |762,102 | |||
| |21% | |||
| |- | |||
| |1911 census | |||
| | | |||
| |178,647 | |||
| |529,943 | |||
| |30% | |||
| |197,990 | |||
| |46,591 | |||
| |839,896 | |||
| | | |||
| |- | |||
| |1921 census | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |576,430 | |||
| | | |||
| |206,990 | |||
| |51,825 | |||
| |909,246 | |||
| | | |||
| |- | |||
| |1931 census | |||
| |255,469 | |||
| |242,381 | |||
| |637,580 | |||
| |38% | |||
| |217,801 | |||
| |50,565 | |||
| |1,008,535 | |||
| |25.3% | |||
| |- | |||
| |1983 census | |||
| |584,518 | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |2,045,559 | |||
| |29% | |||
| |- | |||
| |2014 census | |||
| estimate | |||
| |1.3 million<ref name="bbc.com"/> | |||
| (+1 million | |||
| overseas) | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| | | |||
| |3,188,963 | |||
| |40% (~60% if overseas | |||
| population is included.) | |||
| |} | |||
| == Demographics == | |||
| Those who identify as Rohingyas typically reside in the northernmost townships of Arakan bordering Bangladesh where they form 80–98% of the population. A typical Rohingya family has four or five surviving children but the numbers up to twenty eight have been recorded in rare cases.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/08/201288114724103607.html |title='Mass graves' for Myanmar's Rohingya - Features |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date= |accessdate=18 October 2013}}</ref> According to David Price of Harvard University, Rohingyas have 37% more children between 0 and 9 years old than Myanmar's national average.<ref name=":5">{{cite web|url=http://www.ash.harvard.edu/extension/ash/docs/A_Fatal_Distraction_from_Federalism_Religious_Conflict_in_Rakhine.pdf |title=Fatal Distraction from Federalism: Religious Conflict in Rakhine |date=October 2014 |website= |publisher=Harvard Ash Center |last=Dapice |first=David |accessdate=8 February 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105013614/http://www.ash.harvard.edu/extension/ash/docs/A_Fatal_Distraction_from_Federalism_Religious_Conflict_in_Rakhine.pdf |archivedate=5 January 2015 |df=dmy }}</ref> As of 2014, about 1.3 million Rohingyas live in Myanmar and an estimated 1 million overseas. They form 40% of Rakhine State's population or 60% if overseas population is included. | |||
| == Language == | |||
| {{Main article|Rohingya language}} | |||
| The ] is part of the ] sub-branch of the greater ] and is related to the ] spoken in the southernmost part of Bangladesh bordering Myanmar.<ref name="lan" /> While both Rohingya and Chittagonian are related to Bengali, they are not ] with the latter. Rohingyas do not speak Burmese, the ''lingua franca'' of Myanmar, and face problems in integration. Rohingya scholars have successfully written the Rohingya language in various scripts including the ], Hanifi, ], Roman, and ]s, where Hanifi is a newly developed alphabet derived from Arabic with the addition of four characters from Latin and Burmese. | |||
| More recently, a Latin alphabet has been developed using all 26 English letters A to Z and two additional Latin letters Ç (for retroflex R) and Ñ (for nasal sound). To accurately represent Rohingya phonology, it also uses five accented vowels (áéíóú). It has been recognised by ISO with ISO 639-3 "rhg" code.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp?order=639_3&letter=r |title=ISO 639 code tables |publisher=Sil.org |date= |accessdate=18 October 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110618154156/http://www.sil.org:80/iso639-3/codes.asp?order=639_3&letter=r |archivedate=18 June 2011 |df=dmy }}</ref> | |||
| == Religion == | |||
| {{Further|Islam in Myanmar}} | |||
| The Rohingya people practice ] with elements of ]. The government restricts educational opportunities for them, many pursue fundamental Islamic studies as their only educational option. Mosques and ]s are present in most villages. Traditionally, men pray in congregations and women pray at home. | |||
| ==Human rights and refugee status== | |||
| {{See also|Persecution of Muslims in Myanmar}} | |||
| {{Quote box | |||
| |quote = The Rohingyas’ freedom of movement is severely restricted and the vast majority of them have effectively been denied Burmese citizenship. They are also subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction and house destruction; and financial restrictions on marriage. | |||
| |source = —Amnesty International in 2004<ref name="Amn"/> | |||
| |width = 25% | |||
| |align = right}} | |||
| The Rohingya people have been described as "amongst the world's least wanted"<ref>{{cite news |author=Mark Dummett |date=18 February 2010 |title=Bangladesh accused of ‘crackdown’ on Rohingya refugees |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8521280.stm |work=BBC News |accessdate=29 July 2012}}</ref> and "one of the world's most persecuted minorities."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refdaily?pass=52fc6fbd5&id=4fe952205| title=Myanmar, Bangladesh leaders ‘to discuss Rohingya’ |agency=Agence France-Presse | date=25 June 2012 | accessdate=29 July 2012}}</ref> The Rohingya are deprived of the right to free movement and of higher education<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/myanmar-does-not-recognise-rohingya-citizens-ngo-expert-elaborates-our-interview|title = "The world's most persecuted people" Katja Dombrowski interviews Johannes Kaltenbach (Malteser International)|date = |website = |publisher = In: D+C, Vol.42.2015:5 |accessdate =}}</ref> They have been denied Burmese citizenship since the ] was enacted.<ref name=rohingya>{{cite news |author=Jonathan Head |date=5 February 2009 |title=What drive the Rohingya to sea? |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7872635.stm |work=BBC News |accessdate=29 July 2012}}</ref> They are not allowed to travel without official permission and were previously required to sign a commitment not to have more than two children, though the law was not strictly enforced. They are subjected to routine forced labour, typically a Rohingya man will have to give up one day a week to work on military or government projects, and one night for sentry duty. The Rohingya have also lost a lot of arable land, which has been confiscated by the military to give to Buddhist settlers from elsewhere in Myanmar.{{Sfn|Crisis Group|2014|p=19}}<ref name=rohingya/> | |||
| According to ], the Rohingya have suffered from human rights violations under the ] since 1978, and many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result.<ref name="Amn">{{cite web|url=http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA16/005/2004/ |title=Myanmar – The Rohingya Minority: Fundamental Rights Denied |date=2004 |author=Amnesty International |accessdate=11 February 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213205322/http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA16/005/2004 |archivedate=13 December 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref> In 2005, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had assisted with the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh, but allegations of human rights abuses in the refugee camps threatened this effort.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newagebd.com/2005/may/21/front.html#9 |title=UNHCR threatens to wind up Bangladesh operations |publisher=New Age BDNEWS, Dhaka |date=21 May 2005 |accessdate=25 April 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425140346/http://www.newagebd.com/2005/may/21/front.html |archivedate=25 April 2009 |df=dmy }}</ref> In 2015, 140,000 Rohingyas remain in IDP camps after communal riots in 2012.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23077537|title = The unending plight of Burma's unwanted Rohingyas|last = Head|first = Jonathan|date = 1 July 2013|work = |access-date = 11 February 2015}}</ref> | |||
| Despite earlier efforts by the UN, the vast majority of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are unable to return because of the 2012 communal violence and fear of persecution. Bangladeshi government has reduced the amount of support for Rohingyas to prevent an outflow of refugees to Bangladesh.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dummett |first=Mark |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7019882.stm |title=Asia-Pacific | Burmese exiles in desperate conditions |publisher=BBC News |date=29 September 2007 |accessdate=18 October 2013}}</ref> In February 2009, many Rohingya refugees were rescued by ] sailors in the ], after 21 days at sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epaper.kompas.com/ |title=Kompas - VirtualNEWSPAPER |publisher=Epaper.kompas.com |date= |accessdate=18 October 2013}}</ref> | |||
| {{Quote box | |||
| |quote = The Rakhine community as a whole has tended to be cast internationally as violent extremists – ignoring the diversity of opinions that exist, the fact that the Rakhine themselves are a long-oppressed minority, and rarely attempting to understand their perspective and concerns. This is counterproductive: it promotes a siege mentality on the part of the Rakhine, and obscures complex realities that must be understood if a sustainable way forward is to be found. | |||
| |source = —The International Crisis Group, ''The Politics of Rakhine State'', 22 October 2014{{Sfn|Crisis Group|2014|p=i}} | |||
| |width = 25% | |||
| |align = right}} | |||
| Over the years, thousands of Rohingyas have also fled to Thailand. There have been charges that Rohingyas were shipped and towed out to open sea from Thailand. In February 2009 there was evidence of the Thai army towing a boatload of 190 Rohingya refugees out to sea. A group of refugees rescued in February 2009 by Indonesian authorities told that they were captured and beaten by the Thai military, and then abandoned at sea.<ref>Rivers, Dan (12 February 2009). . ].</ref> | |||
| Steps to repatriate Rohingya refugees began in 2005. In 2009, the government of ] announced that it will repatriate around 9,000 Rohingyas living in refugee camps inside the country back to Myanmar, after a meeting with Burmese diplomats.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.zeenews.com/news591146.html|title=Myanmar to repatriate 9,000 Muslim refugees from B'desh |last=]|date=29 December 2009|publisher=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=119694|title=Myanmar to take back 9,000 Rohingyas soon|last=Staff Correspondent|date=30 December 2009|publisher=]}}</ref> On 16 October 2011, the new government of Myanmar agreed to take back registered Rohingya refugees. However, Rakhine State riots in 2012 hampered the repatriation efforts.<ref>{{cite news|title=Myanmar to 'take back' Rohingya refugees|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=206713|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=16 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahmed |first1=Akbar |last2=Akins |first2=Harrison |date= 1 December 2011 |title=Little help for the persecuted Rohingya of Burma |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/dec/01/rohingya-burma?INTCMP=SRCH |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |accessdate=18 October 2013}}</ref> | |||
| On 29 March 2014, the Burmese government banned the word "Rohingya" and asked for registration of the minority as "Bengalis" in the ], the first in three decades.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/no-registration-for-rohingya-in-myanmar-census/article5849870.ece | location=Chennai, India | work=The Hindu | title=No registration for ‘Rohingya' in Myanmar census | date=30 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26807239 | title=Burma census bans people registering as Rohingya | publisher=BBC | date=30 March 2014 | accessdate=10 February 2015}}</ref> On 7 May 2014, the ] passed the ] that called on the government of Myanmar to end the discrimination and persecution.<ref name="BurmaResoluHill">{{cite news|last=Marcos|first=Cristina|title=House passes resolution pressuring Burmese government to end genocide|url=http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/205545-house-passes-resolution-pressuring-burmese-government-to-end|newspaper=The Hill|date=7 May 2014|accessdate=8 May 2014}}</ref><ref name="418sum">{{cite web|title=H.Res. 418 - Summary|url=http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-resolution/418|publisher=United States Congress|accessdate=5 May 2014}}</ref> Researchers from the ] at ] suggest that the Myanmar government are in the final stages of an organised process of ] against the Rohingya.<ref>{{cite news|title=Campaigns of violence towards Rohingya are highly organised and genocidal in intent|url=http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/hss/165941.html|publisher=Queen Mary University of London|date=29 October 2015|accessdate=2 November 2015}}</ref> Such viewpoints have been criticized for using loaded terms to gain megaphone attention. Mr Charles Petrie, a former top UN official in Myanmar, argues that "Today using the term, aside from being divisive and potentially incorrect, will only ensure that opportunities and options to try to resolve the issue to be addressed will not be available."<ref name="auto">{{cite magazine |title=The Rohingyas: The most persecuted people on Earth? |url=http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21654124-myanmars-muslim-minority-have-been-attacked-impunity-stripped-vote-and-driven |magazine=] |date=13 June 2015 |accessdate=15 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ghosh |first1=Nirma l|title=Genocide 'not the issue' in Myanmar |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/genocide-not-the-issue-in-myanmar |newspaper=The Strait Times |accessdate=2 November 2015}}</ref> | |||
| ==See also==<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER --> | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{Reflist|group=note}} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist|30em}} | |||
| ===Additional sources=== | |||
| {{commons category}} | |||
| * {{Cite book|title = Rohingya: the name, the movement and the quest for identity|last = Leider|first = Jacques|publisher = Myanmar Egress and the Myanmar Peace Center|year = 2013|isbn = |location = |pages = 204–255|url = http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF17/Leider-2014.pdf | ref={{Sfnref|Leider|2013}}}} | |||
| * {{cite book|last=Yegar|first=Moshe|title=Between integration and secession: The Muslim communities of the Southern Philippines, Southern Thailand, and Western Burma / Myanmar|year=2002|publisher=]|location=Lanham, MD|isbn=0739103563|url=|ref={{Sfnref|Yegar|2002}}}} | |||
| * {{cite book|last=Yegar|first=Moshe|title=Muslims of Burma|url=http://www.netipr.org/policy/downloads/19720101-Muslims-Of-Burma-by-Moshe-Yegar.pdf|year=1972|publisher=Verlag Otto Harrassowitz|location=Wiesbaden|isbn=|ref={{Sfnref|Yegar|1972}}}} | |||
| * {{cite web|url = http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-east-asia/burma-myanmar/261-myanmar-the-politics-of-rakhine-state.pdf|title = Myanmar:The Politics of Rakhine State|date = 22 October 2014|accessdate = 8 February 2015|website = |publisher = International Crisis Group| ref={{Sfnref|Crisis Group|2014}}}} | |||
| * {{cite journal | url=http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/khin-mg-saw-on-rohingya.pdf |title=Khin Maung Saw on Rohingya|author=Khin Maung Saw|date=May 1993| ref={{Sfnref|Khin Maung Saw|1993}}}} | |||
| * {{cite web | url=http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64388.pdf | title=The Development of a Muslim Enclave in Arakan (Rakhine) State of Burma (Myanmar) | publisher=SOAS | year=2005 | accessdate=1 November 2011 | author=Aye Chan| ref={{Sfnref|Aye Chan|2005}}}} | |||
| * {{cite web|title=Myanmar, The Rohingya Minority: Fundamental Rights Denied|publisher=Amnesty International|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA160052004?open&of=ENG-MMR|accessdate=13 August 2005}} | |||
| * {{cite book | last=Harvey | first= G. E.| title=History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824 | publisher=Frank Cass & Co. Ltd | year=1925 | location = London}} | |||
| * {{cite book | last=Myint-U | first=Thant | title=The River of Lost Footsteps—Histories of Burma | year=2006 | publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux | isbn=978-0-374-16342-6}} | |||
| * {{cite book | last=Phayre | first=Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. | title=History of Burma | year=1883 | edition=1967 | publisher=Susil Gupta | location=London}} | |||
| * by Aye Chan | |||
| * | |||
| {{Ethnic groups in Myanmar}} | |||
| {{Authority control}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohingya People}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohingya People}} | ||
| ] | ] | ||